Medical devices including those that may be implanted and those that are worn externally on the body of the patient utilize medical leads to carry signals between circuitry within the medical device and electrodes on distal ends of the medical leads. The medical leads may be used to deliver electrical stimulation pulses from the medical circuitry to the tissue and/or to sense physiological signals from the tissue and convey those signals to the medical circuitry.
Typically, the medical lead is a separate item from the medical device. The lead is routed within the body of the patient to the area where stimulation or sensing is to occur. A proximal end of the lead is connected to the medical device by inserting the lead into a connector enclosure of the medical device. The connector enclosure establishes electrical contact between electrical connectors on the lead and corresponding lead connectors within the connector enclosure. The connector enclosure may provide seals that engage the medical lead and prevent body fluids from entering into the connector enclosure of the medical device.
The connector enclosure of the medical device is often a polymer which is formed over the lead connectors and lead frames that provide a conductor from the electrical connector to electrical contacts on the base of the connector enclosure. The medical device also includes a hermetically sealed can that is typically constructed of a metal such as titanium. The can has feedthrough pins exiting a top of the can that are attached to the electrical contacts of the connector enclosure during assembly of the medical device to complete the electrical pathways from the medical circuitry to the lead connectors of the connector enclosure.
Various techniques may be used to attach the connector enclosure to the can. The top of the can may have barbs, pins, straps, and other features that engage the bottom of the connector enclosure and/or that the connector enclosure is formed around to aid in attaching the connector enclosure to the can. Furthermore, medical adhesive is typically used to aid in attaching the connector enclosure to the can. While these techniques may provide for attachment of the connector enclosure, there may be drawbacks. As medical devices get thinner, these techniques may provide inadequate attachment strength. As another example, the inclusion of features on the top of the can may call for a larger device volume than is desired. As yet another example, the use of medical adhesive between the can and the connector enclosure may be undesirable.